Detoured
by AngstyCanadianGleek
Summary: When Draco's father drags him to a business dinner, he does not expect to find Harry Potter, starved and abused in his own home. Within minutes Harry and Draco's lives are changed forever? What will the Malfoys do when they discover just how Harry has been treated by his relatives. How will this change Harry's time at Hogwarts? Eventual Drarry pairing, AU, Slytherin Harry
1. Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy groaned as his father stared approvingly at his high-end muggle outfit. Lucius Malfoy was going to a business supper with a manager of one of his eye end companies and his family. This meant Draco and his mother would be attending as well. These dinners were usually painfully boring and long; today was the last day of July and Draco would rather play catch the snitch outside. The weather was just too perfect to waste sitting inside while his father talked business all evening.

"I want you to act respectful, Draco. I don't want anyone thinking your mother and I never taught you any manors," Lucius said as he smoothed back his son's hair. Draco grinned slightly at the gesture before standing up straight.

"Yes, Father. I will be on my best behaviour," Draco replied, smiling up at his father. "I don't want to do anything that could compromise my new Nimbus 2000," Draco said the last part, knowing the new broomstick was part of the deal for Draco attending tonight's dinner.

Lucius nodded before making his was out of the bathroom with his son following closely. Narcissa looked at her son with a look of complete pride before announcing they were ready to go.

Draco, who was unused to muggle transportation, found the car ride to the Dursleys' house to be long and unnerving. The car made a long, continuous purring noise and alway appeared to be vibrating in a way that made Draco worry that the thing was going to stop running any second.

Upon arriving at the Dursleys' house, Draco had to remind himself that their house wasn't going to be as luxurious or elegant as his own. He also had to remind himself not to speak of magic around the muggles. It was always weird for Draco to be in a house that didn't have magic objects or magic based conversations. At no point tonight would Draco be able to talk to the young Dursley boy about Quidditch or broomsticks. But Draco had spent time studying muggle sports and books to be able to uphold a conversation with a muggle child.

Lucius knocked loudly on the door while Draco's mum fixed Draco's tie. When the door opened, a woman with a horse-shaped face and long thin neck answered the door. She had a large, nervous smile plastered on her face as she regarded the family in front of her.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Malfoy, Draco," Mrs Dursley greeted in a voice that told Draco she was trying too hard to impress them. It really bugged Draco when people tried much too hard to try to make a good impression. The woman opened the door wider and it took almost all of Draco's restraint to not gawk at the figures in front of him. Draco had been exposed to muggles before but these two were easily the fattest, ugliest muggles Draco had ever encountered.

The man was had blonde hair, watery blue eyes and somehow showed no visible sign of possessing a neck. His facial features were pinched together in was almost looked like a scowl but Draco figured this was the man's usual face. The boy looked just like his father, except his face, it was somehow rounder and pinker; the boy's race reminded Draco of a pig.

The Dursleys' showed them to a table and Draco was almost impressed with how far they had gone to make their dining room presentable. The room had candles, fancy dishes of food and even semi-expensive wines. Draco was not permitted to drink the wine but he was given a sparkly apple beverage. About halfway through the meal, Draco realised he needed to use the toilet.

"Mrs Dursley, may I excuse myself for a moment?" Draco asked in a polite tone. He was almost glad his bladder was offering him an excuse to stop watching their pig of a son shove food into his face. Draco found himself surprised the boy actually managed to get any food into his mouth. Mrs Dursley nodded and gave Draco directions to the bathroom. Draco stood up politely, nodding to his father before heading towards the bathroom.

When Draco stepped into the bathroom, Draco was shocked to find a boy cleaning the bathroom. But what startled Draco was the boy's condition. The boy was covered head to foot in bruises, his eye was actually swollen shut and he seemed absolutely terrified that someone had walked in on his cleaning. Draco was about to make a remark when he spotted the lightning bolt scar on the boy's forehead. _No way_ was the boy who lived being treated in such a terrible fashion.

"Please don't tell them you saw me. They'll kill me," Harry whispered.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you eating with us?" Draco said, the idea of eating with _the boy who lived_ was enough to make up for being dragged here by this father on such a nice evening. It would be enough to make up for all of the business suppers Draco would be dragged to in the future.

"Freaks like me aren't allowed to eat with normal people. Besides, I burnt breakfast; I'm not allowed to eat today," Harry said causing Draco's jaw to drop. _Not allowed to eat today!_ Not even the house elves were punished that way because Draco's father knew how hard it would be to get productive responses if his elves were beaten and starved to the point where they couldn't function. This boy was skin and bones under what looked like Dudley's ripped and oversized clothing; somehow the clothes made him look even thinner and sicker. Draco wouldn't have even forced his house elves to wear these kinds of clothing or put them through such treatments.

This boy was skin and bones under what looked like Dudley's ripped and oversized clothing; somehow the clothes made him look even thinner and sicker. Draco wouldn't have even forced his house elves to wear these kinds of clothing or put them through such treatments. These clothes needed to be burnt.

This was absolutely _unacceptable_ treatment of the boy who had saved the wizarding world. Draco politely excused himself and went back to the dining room; his bladder forgotten. He walked over to his mother, attempting to keep his expression as neutral as he could.

"Mother, I am feeling unwell and I could use your help in the toilet," Draco said, trying his best to express to his mother how important it was for her to follow him and not ask questions just yet. Narcissa took the cue and excused herself from the table. Lucius gave Draco a concerned glance but his wife waved him down. It wasn't until they got upstairs that Narcissa spoke.

"Dragon, whatever is so important that it can't wait until we get home?" Narcissa asked her son, worrying he was actually sick because he did look rather pale and shaky.

Draco took that as his cue to open the door and reveal the battered, shaking boy. Narcissa felt her stomach buckle and a look of obvious horror crossed her face. She stared back and forth between Draco and the boy, trying to process what she was seeing. The boy was in far worse condition than any house elf she had ever met. His eyes were wide with terror and staring at Narcissa like he was expecting her to yell or hit him.

"Mum, let me introduce you to Harry Potter. The Dursley's _house elf!"_ Draco said the last part, not attempting to hide his anger about the situation. Narcissa's eyes immediately went to the boy's forehead. When she found the scar, her skin turned green with disgust. Draco worried for a minute that his mother might be sick upon realising the treatment their saviour was receiving from his family.

"Mum, his family feels that 'freaks like him should not be permitted to eat with normal people like us!'" Draco cried angrily, causing Narcissa's blood to boil.

Narcissa gripped her emulate tightly; the emulate was designed to communicate to Lucius. By now the necklace would be heating up around her husband's neck, alerting him that his wife urgently required his attention. From downstairs Lucius could be heard excusing himself, making a corny joke about how fragile children's stomachs could be.

Narcissa had gone to the closet to retrieve a blanket to cover Harry. It wasn't cold but with how dangerously thin the boy was, it was probably enough to compromise his immune system. When Lucius appear at the door, Narcissa was coaxing Harry out of the bathtub he was presently scrubbing.

"Lucius, this is Harry Potter," Narcissa informed her husband, causing his normally neutral and calculating expression to turn to that of anger and disgust. Harry trembled when he saw Lucius' expression but Lucius could not control his anger at that point. Lucius and Severus spent the better part of the war working as spies for Dumbledore to help eliminate the Dark Lord. They had risked death or worse to save the wizarding world and he was not going to sit back and let the saviour of the wizarding world be abused in such a manner. The Dark Lord was gone for good because of this child and he deserved to be treated with respect; at the very least, he deserved to be treated like a _human being!_

"Come with me!" Lucius said. "Bring Harry," Lucius called the last past over his shoulder.

"You're not going to kill them, are you?" Narcissa asked, knowing she herself wanted to murder them but certainly not with children present.

"No, I won't be killing them but I will be going out of my way to make them regret laying a hand on Harry," Lucius informed his wife who had placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and was guiding him down the stairs. When the Malfoys returned downstairs with Harry in

When the Malfoys returned downstairs with Harry in tow; the Dursleys paled drastically. Petunia Dursley looked like she had sucked a lemon, Vernon's face was turning Purple and Dudley... was too busy shoving food into his fat mouth to notice or care what was happening.

"What is the meaning of this, Dursley?" Lucius said in a quiet but dangerous tone. Despite the fact that Lucius' voice never increased in volume, his voice was filled with so much rage.

"I don't know what the boy told you but he is a filthy, rotten liar," Vernon sneered, clutching his fists angrily to his side; he was staring at the tiny boy with furious eyes.

"He hasn't told me anything! He didn't have to because I am not blind! Do you expect me to believe this child did this to himself?" Lucius said, his voice dripping with more and more anger with each passing second. "How dare you save our world's saviour in such a deplorable manner! I will see to in that justice is served here; starting with your job, Dursley!"

"M-my job?" Vernon asked, his face paling drastically.

"Or should I say your lack of a job? Yes, that sounds better. And then we will look into getting back all of the money provided to you to care for Mr Potter. I can clearly see that he hasn't been provided acceptable clothing, food or support. I do look _forward_ to seeing you in the future to discuss this matter more thoroughly," Lucius said in a threatening tone before stepping outside with his family and Harry Potter in tow.

"You can't take him, you freaks! I won't allow it!" Vernon hollered from the front door, glaring towards the Malfoys as Narcissa helped Harry into the backseat of the car with Draco.

Lucius pulled out his wand and pointed it towards the fat, bearded muggle.

"And what do you plan to do to stop me?" Lucius said in a tone that caused Vernon's face to drain of all colour.

"Do whatever you want with the freak! Just don't think about returning him here!" Vernon shouted but his voice was filled with more fear than anger as he disappeared back into the house and slammed the door. Lucius put his wand away and stepped into the car; his night just became more complicated than he could have imagined.


	2. Chapter 2

When the Malfoys arrive home, Narcissa sends Draco to his room and guides Harry into the living room. Harry was staring around the house in complete amazement. Harry had never been in such a nice house before; it was bigger than anything Harry was used to seeing. Harry was scared to touch anything out of fear of getting in trouble. For a child who'd just been removed from his home by strangers, he was being really quiet. Quiet to the point where it was almost unnerving. It was almost like the child didn't care what was or what was about to happen.

For a child who'd just been removed from his home by strangers, he was being really quiet. Quiet to the point where it was almost unnerving. It was almost like the child didn't care what was or what was about to happen.

Lucius stepped towards the fireplace in the next room and placed a floo call to his dear friend, Severus. Severus answered quickly, looking as aggravated as he always did before a school term.

"What is it, Lucius? I was working on a potion," Severus said, sounding annoyed but something in Lucius' expression caught him off guard.

"I need you to come through and bring any healing potions you can get your hands on," Lucius said, causing his friend's eyes to widen into a look of worry and concern.

"Is it Draco or Cissy?" Severus asked frantically.

"No, I'll explain once you get here," Lucius said, knowing Severus was the best person to handle Harry's treatment. He was the only person Lucius knew who would handle this with discretion. Severus had disappeared but Lucius could hear jars shifting and cupboard doors opening and closing. Within a few minutes, Severus had stepped through the floo network and was staring at Lucius expecting an explanation.

"My family and I attended a dinner with a family called the Dursleys," Lucius started; when he saw the man's eyebrows rise, he knew Severus knew who he was talking about. "While we were there, we learned that Harry Potter had been left in their custody."

Severus' expression was that of shock and terror.

"What was that old coot thinking? Since you are asking for healing potions; I'm going to guess the Potter boy is here," Severus stated in a dull tone. "How bad is it?"

Lucius didn't answer; instead, he guided Severus into the living room where she was rinsing the deep, inflamed welts on Harry's back. It was nearly impossible to find any skin on Harry's chest, back and arms that weren't covered in bruises, welts or cuts. Harry was so thin that his skin practically clung to his bones. Harry seemed confused by the kind treatment he was receiving from Narcissa who looked ready to burst into tears at the sight of such an abused child.

Narcissa was whispering quietly to the child, trying to help him relax but the child was too suspicious of the kind words and treatment. He stared at the adults as though he was waiting for them to start beating him.

Lucius glanced at Severus who appeared completely speechless for a few moments before springing into action.

* * *

After the examination was complete, Severus discovered malnutrition, broken ribs, poorly healed fractures, and several deep bruises. After taking pictures to document the extent of the abuse, Severus put Harry into a deep sleep before he began healing Harry's injuries. Bones had to be reset, bruises needed to be mended and Harry needed rest to be able to deal with everything that was happening. Lucius had been voicing concern as to why Harry was being so quiet with everything that had happened and Severus had concluded that the child was in shock.

"He's going to need nutritional potions to help bring his weight up. You might want to consider putting him on a light, blended diet until he can handle heavier foods," Severus said. Severus was used to handling abused students at Hogwarts; he saw them so often in Slytherin that he reacted automatically to them. "He's probably going to be quite nervous when he wakes up. The shock should have worn off by then and he won't be as quiet. I'll come back tomorrow with the paperwork to issue a formal complaint with children's welfare from both muggle and magical communities."

Lucius gave a terrifying grin to Severus who could only wonder what the blonde man had planned for the family.

"Yes, I have plans for them as well. I have ties with so many branches of government that their lives will be hell," Lucius informed Severus, knowing that the Dursleys were going to regret everything wrong they did to Harry. "I am planning to put several things into motion tomorrow. Life as the Dursleys knew it is officially over."

* * *

Narcissa had carried Harry up to a guest bedroom and put him in a fresh pair of pyjamas. Draco's clothes were a bit big on Harry but they fit much better than the clothes he was wearing before. Narcissa found herself surprised at just _how_ light Harry was. Today was Harry's eleventh birthday and the fact that he was light enough for her to carry without help was terrifying.

When Harry woke up, he was scared but made no attempt to run from Narcissa.

"Hello, Harry. I am Narcissa Malfoy. You are at my house. Do you remember when my son found you tonight?"

Harry nodded slowly, watching Narcissa with a careful expression.

"I was doing chores and pretending I didn't exist when he came into the bathroom. I was very careful not to be heard, I promise," Harry said causing Narcissa's eyes to widen. The child thought he was in trouble for getting caught.

"Don't worry about it. It is a good thing we found you. You aunt and uncle had not right treating you the way they did and they are going to learn why what they did was wrong very soon," Narcissa promised, causing Harry to wonder what was going to happen to his relatives. He didn't like them but he didn't want them to die either.

"What's going to happen to them?" Harry asked. "They aren't going to get hurt, are they?"

Narcissa looked at Harry and decided it was best to be completely honest because the child also needed to know what his aunt and uncle did was wrong. "Not physically but they will be paying for their actions. They will have a very large price to pay."


	3. Chapter 3

Narcissa Malfoy could not remember the last time she was this angry; in fact, she didn't think she was capable of harnessing this kind of sheer, unadulterated anger but as she sat, she could practically feel her magic crackling around the room in response to her anger. To see a child treated in this manner was something she would have never imagined even the Dark Lord himself capable of and that was saying something.

Since arriving at the house and healing Harry as best they could, they had introduced him to Draco, Severus, and Lucius and now after explaining that he was allowed to use the furniture, they had finally gotten the poor, still sickly looking to sleep. Harry looked better than when he arrived but still looked pale, clammy and there were still shadows of bruises left over his body.

Severus was sitting mutely in the living room, his face resting in his hands, unable to believe that Lily's son had been treated with a cruelty that surpassed anything he had ever experienced in such a short amount of time and almost made his parents look like saints in comparison. His face was torn with regret, anger, sadness, fear and worry for the much too small child.

Lucius was doing his best to try and explain this to Draco, who was scared and angry but was having trouble coming up with the words to explain how someone's family could treat their own flesh and blood so horribly. Especially Harry Potter! Saviour of the wizarding world! Famous and loved in the wizarding world and yet treated worse than a house elf in his own home by people who owe their lives to him.

This felt so surreal; like it should be a horrible nightmare and everything seemed frozen as the gravity of the situation began to dawn upon them. Now that Harry had been treated and was out of most immediate dangers the question going through everyone's mind was 'what now?'

They had to be so careful with who they approached with this because they feared this becoming a media frenzy or worse, causing an outright rebellion against the muggles. Narcissa might not love muggles, in fact, right now she was outright furious with them but everyone was still tense from the war and she feared the repercussions that might come about once it became known how muggles had treated their saviour out of fear of his magic.

Yes, the bigger picture had to be taken into consideration.

The first thing that had to be taken care of was the muggles. After writing a few well-worded letters to the right people, Narcissa was sure an investigation would be launched by the DMLE and they would help press appropriate charges within the magical and muggle world. With luck, Narcissa hoped, the wizarding community would see muggles in Azkaban for the first time.

Perhaps their obese son could be taken in by a magic family to hopefully erase the nonsense his family had filled his mind with about magic. Of course, this would be to the boys benefit as well for several reasons including the hum of magic they had sensed from the boy when he'd been denied permission eat dessert before the meal had even begun. The child was abused as well in that he was given _everything_ he wanted, regardless of if it was good for him or not. This much was obvious by his weight, his temperament and overall attitude throughout the evening. The child was in for a rude awakening at one point or another.

"Mummy?"

Narcissa turned to face her son with a small smile on her face. Draco, though raised rich, was much more well adjusted than that Dursley boy. Though he could be a bit spoiled, he had manners, he mostly listened when told to do something and was actually the proper weight for a child his age. This evening helped her realise that perhaps they might be doing a good job after all.

"Yes, Dragon."

"Is Harry going to be okay?"

Draco's silver eyes were still wide with worry and concern. This evening had been the first time Draco had ever been exposed to something so harsh. Draco was sheltered from most of the world's cold, cruel realities and blinded by childish innocence, as most children should be and this evening must be hard for him. A rude awakening the truth that not all children grew up as he and the children he was usually surrounded by.

Like Draco, most of his friends were of a similar class; rich, somewhat spoiled and snobby. Of course, they were all modest in comparison to Dudley. There wasn't even the remote possibility that they were treated in such a manner and were probably all oblivious to the possibility that it happened at all.

"He will heal physically but he might be scared and a little bit confused but eventually he will be fine," Narcissa told Draco, meeting his eyes, hoping her words to be true. Who knew how scared he was going to be? They could deal with whatever happened but it might take a while before he was okay.

"Do you think if Dobby made him some really nice breakfast in the morning, he would like it?" Draco asked.

"I think he'd love it," Narcissa said, almost certain that he'd love it they handed him a stale piece of bread.

"Are all muggles cruel like that?" Draco asked.

This was the question she feared the most. She had to be careful how to answer this question; while she didn't _like_ muggles, she knew they weren't all capable of this. Afterall, not all muggle borns were abused. Some were but not all of them were.

"Draco, it's complicated. It's like in our world, some are good and some aren't. You-Know-Who was bad, but does that make all wizards bad?"

Draco thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"They are bad people and they will be punished for what they did. But not _all_ muggles are bad like that," Narcissa said as she ran her hands through Draco's hair.

Before going to bed, Lucius and Narcissa had filed for custody of Harry and put through the papers to press charges on the Dursleys through both the magical and muggle courts. With any luck, a trial wouldn't be needed but they were going to cross that river when they crossed it. For now, their goal was to get Harry caught up on his heritage and get him healthy enough for Hogwarts.

They had one month to get him in shape.

"Mum! Mum!"

Draco seemed to be a little panicked as he ran down the stairs towards them.

"Dragon, what's wrong? Do you feel ill?" Narcissa asked, putting her hand on his forehead. He didn't seem warm.

"Mum, today's the 31st July!"

"Yes, Dragon, I know that honey," Narcissa said.

Draco looked at Narcissa with a slightly annoyed expression before she finally realised what her son was trying to tell her.

***LINEBREAK***

Harry woke up feeling like he was lying on a cloud. He was so comfortable and so warm; he didn't want to open his eyes because he knew it was all going to go away and he'd be back in his cupboard again. Right now he was warm, comfortable, he wasn't in any pain and he could still remember the dream he'd had of these lovely people who'd taken him away from the Dursleys and treated him really nice. They'd cleaned his cuts, didn't call him names and they didn't hit him. It was a wonderful dream.

But it was time to wake up now before Aunt Petunia got made that he wasn't cooking breakfast and he didn't want to get in trouble again. Maybe tonight he'd dream about those nice people again.

As he opened his eyes, he slowly began to realise he wasn't in his cupboard. He was in a really big bed, under thick, heavy blankets and wearing super soft pyjamas that made his skin feel wonderful. Was he still dreaming? Or was this real?

This room was huge! It was bigger than the Dursley's living room! He was pretty sure the window was bigger than their living room.

In the distance, he could hear footsteps coming closer and before he could think, he could feel fear and dread forming in his gut. Maybe he was about to wake up now.

The door opened and there was the lady from the night before and she didn't look angry but Harry was still a little nervous. There were times when Uncle Vernon didn't look angry but he would still hit him.

"Good morning, Harry! How are you feeling?"

How was he feeling? He wasn't asked how he was feeling much and it was never good when someone did ask. When the teachers or nurses asked, they always called the Dursleys to express how concerned they were about why he didn't look so well and he always got in trouble. But he felt pretty good, so he decided to answer the lady honestly.

"I feel good, thank you."

"Would you like to come downstairs for some breakfast?" she asked.

"I'm allowed to eat breakfast?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. Usually, he wasn't allowed to eat breakfast, only supper and that was only if he got all of his chores done and wasn't being punished for something. The only time he was allowed to eat breakfast was when the church people visited the house in the morning before school. And even then, they were told Harry had had a stomach bug and couldn't eat too much.

"But, before we eat, I need to tell you something about yourself. I don't know if you were told this or not. Harry? Do you know what a wizard is?"

***LINEBREAK***

Narcissa decided to talk to Harry about magic before they left the room for breakfast and she was glad she did because the house was filled with magic articles, from the moving paintings in the hall, to the house elves. Even the thickest child would notice something off the minute they walked out of this room.

But what he told her made her blood boil! Not only was he not told about magic, he was told there was no such thing and that his parents were drunks who died in a car crash! She wasn't the biggest fan of James Potter but she knew he was a hard-working man who wanted the best for his family and Lily was brilliant; neither of them drank and they certainly didn't die in a car crash.

Once she was done talking to Harry and checking his bandages to see if the potions had done their job, she took him down for breakfast. It was both heartbreaking and sweet to see his eyes light up so much at the simple sight of pancakes, bacon, toast and jam that Dobby was more than happy to make.

After Harry finished eating, Dobby popped in to clean up the table and Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at the site of the elf. Not that she blamed him, house elves were intimidating to anyone who'd never seen one before and this was something that certainly applied to their most energetic, enthusiastic elf.

"Dobby is sorry! Doddy did not mean to scare Mister Harry Potter! I have come to clear the table! No, no! Mister Harry Potter does not need to help Dobby!" Dobby said quickly as Harry began gathering the dishes for Dobby who cleared the table with a quick snap of his finger.

"Woah!" Harry exclaimed as he watched the elf disappear with the dishes.

"What chores do you want me to do?" Harry asked.

Narcissa looked at Harry for a second, trying to figure out the best response to the question.

"I don't want you doing any chores for the next couple days and then, I just want you too make your bed and clean up your toys when you're done playing with them," Narcissa told him with a smile on her face.

"I don't have any toys?" Harry said sadly as he ran his thumb over the soft material of his pyjamas.

Narcissa felt a smile forming when Harry said that. She didn't know how he was going to react to this but she was going to show him what she'd had the house elves working on all night and all morning.

Narcissa guided Harry upstairs and past the room he'd originally been sleeping in and to a door that had his name on it. Harry looked timid but he looked more curious than nervous, so with a gentle push towards the door, Harry opened the door and found a large green and brown room. The room was filled with toys, books and objects Harry didn't recognise but looked like a lot of fun to play with.

But, was this _his_ room? It had his name on the door.

"I hope you like the colour, if you don't we can always change it," Narcissa said, as she watched Harry's face go from surprised to shocked and before she knew it, he was sobbing.

"Harry, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me and this is the nicest room I've ever seen before and I can't believe its actually mine," Harry sobbed and he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes but they were forming too quickly. He was torn between smiling and pulled Harry into a hug and rubbed his back as he sobbed. "I've never had a bedroom or a bed of my own before or even toys! Thank you!"

Those words broke her heart into a million more pieces and she held him even closer until he finally stopped crying. Once the tears were gone, he was grinning from ear to ear as he began looking at everything in the room from the books to the broom.

Harry couldn't believe the room. It was his favourite colour, in was filled with toys and he was actually allowed to touch them. The books on the shelf were titles he'd never seen in the library before such as _Tales of Beadle the Bard._ Some of the other books looked interesting for learning about the Magic Community. _History of Magic, Potions an Overview_ and _A Guide to Wizarding Etiquette;_ these were all books he was going to try and ready within the next couple days. He wanted to prove he was worthy of these wonderful books and toys. Besides, he couldn't wait to read these new books and learn as much about this world as he could.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Narcissa said, bringing to his attention that it was his birthday yesterday. He didn't usually bring much mind to it and the fact that she had remembered and done something made him smile wider than anything else today.

"Mum, post arrived," Draco said, stepping into the room with a smile on his face. "I've got that broom, too. I just got it this morning."

"Do you know how to fly?" Harry asked, trying not to sound overly excited but probably did a bad job.

"Sure, I can teach you. Oh, I've got your letter," Draco said handing Harry an envelope.

Harry couldn't believe it, he had a letter! Who was it from? What was it about?

 _Mr H Potter_

 _Second Green Room_

 _Malfoy Manor_

 _Wiltshire_

 _England_

Seeing Draco's excitement about these letters was enough the fuel his own excitement and soon, he was ripping into the envelope with trembling fingers, anticipation rolling in his stomach like ocean waves. This was the letter that had been coming to his relatives house every day for the past week. It was driving his relatives completely crazy but it seemed like these people were happy to give him this letter. In fact, it was almost like they were expecting it.

 _Dear Mr Potter,_

 _We are pleased to tell you that you have a place at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 15 August._

 ** _I haven't posted anything in a while and I'm sorry but I started my new job with new hours and didn't have the energy to write and then I got sick and didn't have the energy to write. I'm still not feeling the best but it's just a cough and I'm going to write anyway._**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN/ Dudley Dursley in this story just turned 10-years-old.**

 **AN/ I'm sorry beyond words at the amount of time it took to get a new chapter up but I've been adjusting to a new job, battling depression and I'm just now coming around again. This is the longest chapter I've written and I hope you enjoy it. This isn't a conclusion but it may take a week for the next chapter to come out but I was just soo excited to share this chapter. This chapter will include NO graphic description of violence or abuse but will include implied mentions.**

* * *

Mr and Mrs Dursley of four privet drive were positively elated to once again have their lives returned to perfectly normal, thank you very much. This attitude caused a fair bit of a stir in the gossip pool as the hollering had stopped and the older adults could be seen skipping up and down the walk, while their wholly terror of a son could be seen gleefully targeting neighbourhood children to beat up as he wished. He could still be heard making demands at his parents at all hours and his parents seemed a little run down but still, they walked with a new glee in their walk as though they'd been relieved of a terrible burden recently.

This, of course, cause people to also notice that the tiny, small boy who lived there had not been seen in a few days and this worried a few people who had suspicions and were now starting to worry deep down that the Dursleys had done something _unthinkable._

When Mr Dursley woke up that morning, he happily dressed in his ugliest suit, combed his ugly beard and made his way downstairs to where Dudley was throwing a tantrum because his breakfast wasn't ready yet. He ruffled his son's hair and kissed his wife's cheek as she attempted to cook breakfast in time to passify their growing son.

"You have a good day, lad," Vernon said handing Dudley a ten-pound note to get lunch at day camp. The boy stopped his tantrum long enough to pocket the note and tell his father he wanted pizza and pasta for supper that night from their favourite takeout place.

"Fried chicken in the pasta?"

"Of course, dad! When is the freak coming back? Mummy doesn't cook fast enough," Dudley said as his food was placed in front of him. It had taken the past couple days to get Dudley used to Petunia's cooking when he was so used to the way Freak laid out the food and the way he flavoured the food and the way he had food out before they woke up.

"Soon, I hope. Even those freaks won't be able to stand him," Vernon said as he grabbed his umbrella and made his way out the door, just in time to see the postman arriving.

"Ah, Dursley, wonderful timing. I've got a few letters that need to be signed for," the postman said, with a smile on his face. Vernon stared at the letters in the man's hand and frowned. They didn't ask for you to sign for letters unless it was serious, so making a quick effort to sign for the letters, he made his way inside to read them.

 _Dear Mr and Mrs Dursley,_

 _We regret to inform you that your son no longer meets the requirements to be admitted into Smeltings Preparatory Academy. Enclosed, you will find instructions for the return of all uniform materials acquired. Uniform materials should be returned unaltered and undamaged. Please note, a partial refund will be issued within 5-10 business days._

 _Headmaster Kevin Smith_

Vernon felt the blood drain from his face as he read this letter. This didn't give him a lot of time to place Dudley in an academy worthy of him. If he didn't start looking now, he was going to have to resort to sending his son to _public school._

No, it would not come to that. A simple call to the school would resolve whatever issues have come up with his son's enrolment in a proper educational institution.

The next few letters were from the bank informing him of an audit on his account which was now sealed and their home which was now being foreclosed because the mortgage payments had all been reversed for some unknown reason.

The last letter, which turned his stomach more than anything was the letter from the bank informing him that they'd have one week to vacate the premises before the police were called to remove them by force.

Making his way into the kitchen, Petunia spotted how pale her husband had become but their son was too engrossed in his food to care or even notice that something was terribly wrong.

"Dudley, please take your breakfast and eat outside," Vernon said, forcing a cheerful voice so as not to alarm his son about letters that were clearly irrelevant and sent out of context. They were good people and things like this did not happen to god, normal people such as themselves.

"No!"

"Dudley Dursley, you take your breakfast outside now before I drag you there!" Vernon hollered, causing both Dudley and Petunia to jump. Dudley, however, was so startled by the foreign tone that he complied without question but not without whacking his father's leg with his Smeltings Stick. It made Vernon wonder what would happen if the boy discovered he would have to part with is. He didn't even want to think about the mother of all tantrums that would start. No, he was going to resolve it with the school so it wouldn't come to that. But not before he phoned the bank and figured out what the rubbish in those letters was about.

A few seconds later, Dudley emerged back into the kitchen, with a nervous and annoyed expression on his face.

"I thought I told you to eat outside," Vernon started, starting to become annoyed. He needed to show these letters to his wife without his son being present.

"But dad, there are freaks here. Several of them and they need to speak with you," Dudley said, still shoving bacon and toast into his mouth as he spoke, causing bits of spit and food to fly everywhere.

"Well, don't let them in," Vernon demanded, pushing his son towards the kitchen door but found it blocked by a shocking amount of freaks in their freakish apparel, pointing their freaky little twigs at him with expressions of annoyance and disbelief on their faces. Really, the nerve of them looking at him with disapproval when they were dressed like utterly revolting freaks.

Petunia Dursley looked up at the assembly of freaks in her house and began demanding they take their contamination and leave before they affected their son with such nastiness.

"Petunia and Vernon Dursley?"

The voice was so deep, the whole room seemed to rumble as the large, muscular and dark-skinned man in purple-robed said. Even Vernon found himself unable to stop himself from flinching at the authority and clear demand of respect in his voice.

"We don't have to answer to you _freaks_!" Vernon said, pulling his son closer and standing behind his wife who looked both appalled by the man's cowardice and furious at these freaks for disturbing her peaceful morning.

"By order of the Department Of Magical Law Enforcement, you are hereby under arrest for abuse of a wizarding child, neglect of a wizarding child, attempted murder of a wizarding child and fraudulent embezzlement of the funding of not just a wizarding child but the funding of an ancient and noble family."

"Now, see here you freaks..."

The tall, dark man didn't as much as blink at Vernon's outcry and when Dudley hit him with the Smeltings Stick, a freak in the background used her twig to snap the long stick in half, causing Dudley to begin flailing on the floor, crying and screaming.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do will be used against you in a court of law. You will stand trial later this evening for your crimes," the man said, waving his twig, and watching with a satisfied expression as the speel of profanities the man was now screaming was cut off completely by the body binding spell he had just placed on the elder muggles. Upon seeing what happened to his parents, Dudley wisely decided to exercise his right to follow freely. It would appear the child wasn't completely incompetent and he couldn't wait to see the look on these muggles faces in a few day's time when Dudley received his Hogwarts letter.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy had been very busy over the past few days, making preparations for the Dursley's to see what was coming to them and he quickly discovered just how easy those foolish muggles had made this whole process for them. As he, his wife and son accompanied Harry Potter into his first ever Wizengamot trial, they could see that the tiny child was utterly terrified of his surrounding and clinging desperately to his wife's hand. Draco had an arm wrapped around Harry who seemed deeply comforted by the gesture.

Yes, even he was surprised he was able to arrange for such a trial to happen with such short notice. Of course, Cornelius Fudge always tended to give him whatever he wanted for the sake of several ministry programs he funded but to pull such a large trial this quickly was more than Lucius had been expecting and he was quite impressed by the collection of people. Dolores Umbridge was sitting next to Fudge, wearing one of her atrocious outfits. He couldn't help but begrudgingly agree with the look of utter disapproval Petunia gave her outfit.

Various wizards and witches of respective authority could be seen observing Harry's terrified movements, his malnourished frame and the way he would jump anytime someone would move quickly or even as much as coughed or spoke loudly. Albus Dumbledore himself could be seen staring in horror and disbelief at the child who was once so full of life, reduced to a mere child, terrified of his surroundings and everyone in it. To see him staring at everyone as though he were expected to be struck at any second without reason sickened to to his very core.

Albus Dumbledore was a pacifist, first and foremost, but to see the child in such condition made him want to murder the family he had entrusted with his care. He'd known why he was there and he hoped for the boy's sake that it was on overreaction but looking at the child, he could see that that wasn't the case and that the severity of the abuse had in fact been grossly understated.

Leaving Harry with the Dursley's had been so he could live a normal healthy life without people constantly asking him questions and treating him as a celebrity for the even that had robbed him of his parents.

The trail began once Vernon and Petunia were lead into the room, silently cursing under the silencing spells while their son followed behind, his head hung in shame as he had been given long lectures to help him understand why his actions had been wrong.

But he didn't understand or even relate to Harry's treatment until he'd been denied a sweet and his magic had lashed out, causing his parents to look at him with spite and call him a disgusting little freak. Dudley had spent the duration of the afternoon crying with pain and hurt into the arms of a plump, red-headed witch. He'd never seen his mum and dad look at him like that and for the first time in his life, he experienced true pain and hurt.

"I made him feel like this everyday! He must hate me! I hate me. I hate them!" Dudley said, hating feeling so rejected. He hated when his father shoved him to the ground for simply coming within a two foot radios, something he'd seen done to Harry but never himself. But worse was his mother.

His mother had always called him her handsome boy was now staring at him as though he were a filthy creature she'd like to banish. The change in family dynamics were obvious to anyone who had witnessed their interactions, especially the Malfoys who were able to deduce what happened already.

"Order, order! We are here for the trial of Vernon and Petunia Dursley vs. Harry Potter."

Once the specifics of the case were announce to the courtroom, Petunia Dursley was brought to the stand and administered trust serum. Her silencing was removed and she looked around the room in spite before the potion took effect and her face went slack and completely emotionless. The potion was always extra potent in muggles, who didn't have the magic to resist its effect.

"State your name."

"Petunia Elenor Dursley."

The serum administrator nodded, indicating that Fudge could begin his lines of questions.

"Petunia Dursley, you stand here charged with child abuse, child neglect, embezzlement of funds, how do you plea?"

"Not guilty."

The room burst into whispers which quickly silenced with one glance from one of the sterner aurors.

"So, you deny doing anything you are charged with."

"No, I'm not guilty. I was trying to make him less of a freak so he wouldn't contaminate my family and in turn, he turned my own son into a _freak_ like himself."

At the woman's words, Dudley Dursley could be observes stiffened and falling back into Molly Weasley's arms as his body shook with sobs once again at hearing such words directed to him by the people he loved and used to love him. Harry turned and saw the boy sobbing with such heartbreak, that he wanted to do something but he knew it wouldn't go well.

After more questions were asked, they learnt that they had been given use of the Potter safes but They had been warned by both Albus Dumbledore and Gringotts that this was to be for emergencies only outside of their monthly support payments. This was to be for incidentals such as trips, medication but instead, they'd used it to pay off their house, pay for their son's education and whatever bills they paid. Not one bit was ever spend on Harry Potter.

Dudley was called to the stand and upon coming into visual range of his parents, they shot him a look of such contempt and hatred, that he almost collapsed and broke down before he could even speak. He delivered a speech about being encouraged to beat on his cousin, and call him a freak because he was magic. At the end of his speech, he'd forgotten what he was there to do and began sobbing apologies to his cousin, as his aunt and uncle glared at him as though they wished he were dead.

The raw emotion in his words brought the whole courtroom to tears and when his mother spat in his direction, he lost all of his control and ran into Molly's arms and let out gut-wrenching sobs that broke everyone's hearts. With a nod from Fudge, Molly gathered the broken-hearted child into her arms and carried him into a sitting room, where his pained wails could be heard for several minutes.

Narcissa was holding both Harry and Draco who were still sobbing and wiping tears off of Lucius' own face, tears that he hadn't realised were falling.

Vernon Dursley was brought to the stand next and like his wife, he plead innocent under the serum but unlike his wife, he began listing off everything he'd done to Harry Potter with such graphic description that several members of the jury were ill, including Dolores Umbridge, the most heartless and potentially sadistic person working for the ministry, had been sick twice through Vernon's words made worse by the fact that he was speaking without a tone of emotion from the serum. At the end of the muggles words, his face turned dark as he said: "And if I had have known he was going to turn my son into one of you _freaks,_ I would have killed him myself."

What caught the jury's eyes most, was the look of complete shock and horror on Petunia Dursley's face as her husband spoke details of abuse she had never imagined her husband possible of contemplating, let alone doing so with such sick and twisted pressure and if she had have known what the man was doing, she would have taken the little freak to an orphanage and left him.

She felt positively ill having slept in a house with a man capable of such horrific abuse and harm to a live being. In her eyes, Harry Potter was a freak she wanted no association with, as her son now was, but her husband was... a monster with some very really mental problems. Some of the acts he had described were so barbaric and animalistic; no decent human being could have done such things. How had she not noticed being married to such an animal?

Once the jury recovered from Vernon Dursley's words, Cornelius Fudge stood to deliver his verdict.

"Petunia Dursley, you are sentenced to ten years in Azkaban with no chance of parole, after your sentence, you will be reassessed further. You will pay back every sent stolen from the Potter fortune or you will work until you have earned the corresponding amount which will be paid back to Mr Potter," Fudge said, knowing there was no way she'd be able to pay back the money without working for it. And he smiled gleefully as he said his last words. "This money will be earned working as a caretaker at Hogwarts school and will be observed by Argus Fitch in ten years time for a duration of 19 years. It would be sooner but I don't want you contaminating Mr Potter or even your son with your hate."

Cornelius made a mental note to tell the horrible caretaker to take it easy and make sure she did all of the work and to not be remotely gentle on the woman; something he was certain the man would have no trouble complying.

Fudge turned to face Vernon Dursley, unable to stop his stomach from churning at the site of the horrible man who made most of his jury become ill with disgust. The deliberation had taken a bit longer because of trying to come up with a sentence for the man, however, after some back and forth, they were able to come up with a suitable sentence they could all agree on.

Petunia had no idea what Azkaban was but she could tell it was nothing she was going to enjoy but found herself unable to do anything but nod.

"Vernon Partick Dursley, you are hereby sentenced to life in Azkaban, accompanied by the dementors kiss for you heinous and disgusting crimes against a wizarding child but humanity in general. You will serve a sentence of 150 years ending either upon your demise or the completion of your sentence," Fudge said, knowing the man was unlikely to survive the kiss, let alone the next 150 years. "You will be kissed upon arriving in Azkaban and accommodated accordingly."

Vernon Dursley, too stupid to know when to shut up, decided to make his displeasure of the whole situation known.

"Now see here, I will not have some freak and his band of magic princesses tell me where to go and what to do. I have rights!" Vernon screamed, causing angry whispers through the jury. "Tell them Petunia!"

Petunia looked cornered by the request and stared around the room startled, unsure what exactly he expected her to be able to do; after all, she was in enough trouble without further incriminating herself with delusions they were going to back off.

"You lost those right when you took away Harry Potter's rights to live as a normal human being! And your wife can't help you, nor do I think she would if she could."

And he was right, after hearing everything her husband had done, she knew he wasn't a person who should be left wondering the streets freely. He was a disturbed man and disturbed men needed to be locked away. She had no clue what a dementor's kiss was but she knew it was deserved.

* * *

When court adjourned Dudley cautiously approached his cousin, noting the way the blondes surrounding him tensed as though preparing for him to attack Harry. Even his cousin tensed up a little bit and he didn't blame him one bit.

Dudley gripped Molly Weasley's hand a little tighter as he took a deep breath.

"Hello, Harry. I wanted to start over with you, so my name is Dudley," Dudley said, sticking his hand out slowly for Harry to shake. At first, Harry tensed but after a few long seconds, he accepted the hand.

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter."

Dudley gave a small, nervous grin and began shifting nervously.

"I was wondering if you wanted to get to know me again. We can hang out and do whatever you want," Dudley said, not wanting to lose the only family he'd ever known, regardless of how badly he'd treated him, he was still a familiar face. He knew it was likely Harry was going to turn him down but he still wanted to try. Especially considering he'd be in the same school one year after, he wanted to at least be at peace.

"Okay, but only if Draco can come," Harry said, wanting to make sure there was a witness on his side in case Dudley went back to his bullying ways, that way he wouldn't get in trouble.

Dudley gave a wide smile and hugged his new foster mother; relief causing his head to spin. He couldn't believe his cousin was going to give him another chance to prove he wasn't like his father.

"Do you want to have lunch with us tomorrow? I can tell you what I know about Hogwarts. Maybe we can even write throughout the year."

"I'd like that Harry. I'd like that very much," Dudley said, smiling warmly through his bloodshot eyes. He'd never sincerely cried so much in one day before and he hoped to never do so again.

"Narcissa, can Dudley come school shopping with us? He can see all of the books and maybe start reading them now," Harry asked, causing Narcissa to beam proudly. This was the first time he'd requested they do anything and she nodded happily so he would learn that he could ask for things without being condemned.

"You know, dears, that's a great idea. My boys need to get school supplies for this year as well. Would you mind sharing the books you get with Ginny so she can catch up, too," Molly said.

"Okay. I've never shared before but I want to try," Dudley said, wanting to do everything his parents had ever discouraged him to do.

"Great, we will see you all tomorrow at noon in Leaky Cauldron," Lucius said, smiling at Harry's smile.

"But if you hurt Harry, you will regret it," Draco said, not wanting the see his friend sad ever again.

"I won't. I'm going to be a new man, starting today," Dudley vowed with as much conviction as a ten-year-old was capable of. Yes, this was the start of a brand new Dudley Dursley.

* * *

 **I decided to make Dudley a good person because his behaviours were taught and encouraged. I always believed he was a good kid, misguided by terrible parents.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

It was a hot night in August and not a creature was stirring. But the Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was in Albus Dumbledore's, loudly and angrily tearing into him while Severus Snape sat back and watched as the stern witch said everything he had wanted to say since arriving at the castle and then some.

They had been in his office before he'd even arrived to the castle. He would have gotten there sooner but he'd been sick three times on the way home and had decided to avoid taking the floo, as his stomach was still queasy and would be queasy for days to come, Vernon Dursley's words would no doubt haunt his every waking and sleeping hour. He was never going to be able to make up the life he had sentenced Harry to all those years ago.

"I told you, they were the worst kind of muggles! I told you, Albus Perciful Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Just how stupid are you? He was treated worse than a damn house elf! I'm sure there would have been endless people who would have taken him in and treated him better than those muggles..."

Minerva continued her long-winded rant, cursing Dumbledore's name, his magic and his existence in general. And he sat there and listened to every word she said, simply nodding because every word she was saying was true. He had clearly made a horrific mistake in his attempt to try and protect Harry from the wizarding world and in turn, had put him in more danger and in the path to more harm than he could have ever imagined.

Gone was the child who would sit on his lap and play with his beard while he and his parents talked and sneak candy to when Lily wasn't looking just to see him smile. Now, that giggling one-year-old was a terrified 11-year-old, scared by the brutal life that he had sentenced him to. Sure, the child had grown up out of the media, without the prying eyes of all the witches and wizards who wanted pictures and autographs or worse to harm him. But instead, the child had been treated as a freak in his own home.

Feeling his stomach lurch again, Dumbledore made a dive for a vase in his office just in time to be sick once again at the pictures that crossed his eyes as he closed them and the guilt that would eat him away until he died. He didn't even care that his two most respected teachers were there as he fell to his knees and began sobbing for the child he'd tried to protect and failed monumentally. He didn't care that they would stare awkwardly at each other as they watched a man, who You-Know_Who himself feared, curled up in a ball sobbing about how he was trying to protect him.

Albus had done what he thought was right. He'd shown up a day or two after dropping Harry at the Dursleys and found him sitting in a high chair eating cereal and babbling happily while he spoke to Mrs Dursley. She'd given him and Dudley some ice cream and ran her hands affectionately through the child's dark, messy hair.

After, he gave her information about how to access emergency money so the child would be taken care of should he get sick or hurt and to make sure he was going to be fine. After the toddlers had finished their ice cream, she handed both boys some brand new toys and set them on the floor to play. Harry had even hugged the woman before playing with his new toy and running around with Dudley in matching outfits.

He'd seen no evidence of abuse or neglect while he had been there that day. Whenever Harry needed something, it was answered. When Harry saught affection, it was met with enthusiasm. And when the child acted out, he was placed in timeout for two minutes and not even because, after a minute, Petunia had pulled him up and hugged him.

He'd even been shown the little cot they'd placed in the room with their own son for Harry to sleep and then Harry had shown him his new toys and shown him his new blanket. Harry was as happy, cheerful and well cared as he had ever seen him.

After watching these interactions, he had no reason to believe the child would receive anything but love and care but he was clearly very wrong. Now, he knew he'd been fooled. They'd clearly treated him lovingly until he'd left their house and that's probably when the mistreatment started. He'd walked into their house filled with grief for the loss of Lily and James, people he'd considered to be like his own children. But the interactions seemed so sincere. Nothing seemed wrong at all.

Petunia had even said she'd grown past her childish feuds and was a different person then she was when Lily was young. In fact, the only person he hadn't seen was Vernon Dursley, who had been at work.

Yes, Albus Dumbledore had been fooled and tricked and there was nothing he could do to make it up to Harry. But that didn't mean he couldn't try. At least for now, he could take a moment to appreciate his best spies, Lucius, Narcissa and Severus who were helping Harry heal. But this time, he was going to be careful. He wasn't going to let that boy suffer again.

* * *

Harry spent the night tense and jumpy after hearing his relatives speak today but it was Draco's mere presence that soothed the abused child down. Severus Snape had been there the whole night, ready to give a calming drought at any moment but every time the child would become distressed while the two boys slept, Draco would unconsciously pull him closer which seemed to soothe the child's anxiety.

"Are you sure he's okay to go to Diagon Ally tomorrow? He's still really nervous," Lucius said, watching as his son was able to comfort Harry so effortlessly; it was obvious they were close but they'd never seen Draco so close to anyone before. Except maybe Narcissa but this was different; he seemed to have an unconscious desire to comfort the boy.

"Darling, he's going to have to adapt eventually and preferably before he goes to Hogwarts. Besides, Draco will be there and so will we and Severus," Narcissa said, resting her head on her husband's shoulders as she watched with fascination as her son laid perfectly content to hold the small boy in his arms and sleep more peacefully then he had in a while. "Besides, it's important that he learns to manage any discomfort around people without running away. We'll be gone for a few hours. It should be fine," Narcissa said as she snuggled closer to her husband.

Harry and Draco woke up to find Dobby preparing clothes for Harry to wear. It wasn't easy because he still didn't know how Harry liked to dress and he wanted to make Harry Potter happy.

"Good morning Great Harry Potter and Master Draco. Dobby haves clothes for Great Harry Potter to wear but only if they are good enough," Dobby said, his face splitting into a wide grin as Harry nodded and took the clothes that were easily the most expensive clothes he'd ever worn.

"Thank you, Mr Dobby, sir!" Harry said, running to the bathroom to get dressed, leaving behind a shell-shocked Dobby. The Malfoys were wonderful and respected him and treated him well but he'd never heard of a house elf being called sir. Not that he was upset, he was just very surprised; Harry Potter was going to be a great wizard but clearly, he didn't think much of himself. He decided he would do something about that as soon as possible.

Once the boys were dressed, they made their way down to the dining room to eat but Harry was deep in thought about something.

"Draco, what do house elves do?"

"A house elves cooks, cleans, fixes things and helps out around the house," Draco explained. "They also bring you cookies when the grown-ups are having boring discussions."

"Oh, like me?"

"No, you were forced to do those things. House elves do it because it makes them happy. They use our families magic to stay healthy and they want to make us happy by helping us to be healthy. Your relatives were bad people because we don't starve our house elves or hit them," Draco said, feeling mad at Harry's aunt and uncle for making him think for a second that he might be a house elf.

Breakfast had been a chaotic affair that morning. Harry had to take his potions and Draco got upset when Harry gagged a bit at one of the potions, wanting to make sure they did everything they could do to make it taste better. While the boys ate, Severus gave Harry a necklace with a mild calming drought for while they were out.

"If you feel too scared, rub the dragon's head and it will open so you can drink it. But..."

"Only take it when I need it," Harry repeated back for the fifth time. It was very important he only takes it as he needed so he wouldn't become dependant on the drought. It was important that he be able to learn to control his emotions without the use of potions but for now, he would have them for emergencies.

* * *

Travelling by floo network was disorientating for Harry but because he'd been sent through with Draco, it wasn't as bad because the blonde had held on tight to make sure he didn't fall. At first, he'd been terrified at the idea of walking into a fire but Draco stepped in and held his hand out for him to take. Upon seeing that Draco was unharmed, he decided it was safe enough and went along with it.

Upon arriving at the other fireplace, it was hard to stay standing and even harder to stop for giggling from both relief and exhilaration from the very intense trip to the Leaky Cauldron. Once his fits of laughter died down, he was finally able to see where he was. The room looked like a pub from the television programs Uncle Vernon enjoyed watching after work. The main difference, though, was this place was filled with different witches and wizards who were all talking casually. Not one of them even seemed phased to see two eleven-year-old boys stepping out of a fireplace.

Harry made sure to cover his forehead with his hair because he didn't want to be recognised as being a famous wizard. He didn't want to be noticed as anything other than a normal kid getting his things for school with the Malfoys and Severus Snape.

A few minutes later, the fireplace began spitting out redheads until finally, Molly Weasley stepped out with a red-headed girl and Dudley Dursley. The little girl was lightly holding her mum's hand while Dudley was clutching it with an expression that Harry was probably wearing when he stepped through as well.

"See, Dudley, we're here. No big deal," Molly said as she began dusting off Dudley and the little girls clothing.

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Dudley said, blushing. The feeling of the polite words still felt foreign on his tongue but he thought he was doing better at being polite and not demanding things anymore. But, he still had to remind himself to use his manners because as he had learnt last night, the other children didn't even look at him if he tried to boss them around.

"Hello, Harry," Dudley said nervously as he approached his cousin. Mr Weasley had told them that he should approach Harry slowly and carefully so he wouldn't become intimidated.

"Because I used to hit him," Dudley had said, feeling bad once again.

Upon arriving at the Weasleys house, they hadn't been thrilled to learn he used to bully Harry Potter but once they learnt that he was trying to change, they became a little less hostile and a little more cautiously friendly.

His first night at the Borrow was overwhelming because there were so many people and he couldn't eat as much as he was used to and he didn't get away with being rude or demanding. He'd thrown a temper tantrum and quickly discovered that not only did it not work but he was put on time-out afterwards. But after the time-out, Mrs Weasley would sit him down and explain why he'd been punished and why what he did was wrong and afterwards, she'd hug him to let him know he was forgiven.

In one night, he'd apologised for the first time and actually meant it. It had been strange for him to share a room with another child but he quickly learnt it was good when he began having a nightmare about his mum and dad. Ron had sat up with him until his parents came and took Dudley downstairs for some warm milk until he fell back asleep. It was different from when his mum did this because she would have given him whatever he wanted at left him after a bit to go gossip or yell at Harry. But Mrs Weasley sat up with him until he was asleep and then put him back in bed.

"Hello, Dudley," Harry said nervously, unsure what he should say to the boy who looked tired and paler than usual but somehow, he seemed to glow with a kind of happiness Harry had never seen in him before.

Harry was introduced to Molly's children and couldn't believe Dudley had spent a whole night with so many children in the house with him. But he seemed content and happy, so that was good enough for him.

"Let's begin, first, let's take Harry and Dudley into Diagon Ally for the first time," Molly said, causing the Weasley kids and Draco to start beaming with excitement. Clearly, this was a really big deal and the children couldn't wait to share Diagon Ally with them.

"Are there lots of books about magic?" Harry asked, getting the attention of one of the taller red-head boys who smiled at Harry and began telling him how Diagon Ally had one of the biggest wizarding bookshops in Brittan! He seemed to be very proud as he spoke and he was very confident, though a bit cocky, he still seemed very sure of what he was saying and not afraid to speak his mind.

"And I can show you the supplementary books for the school because I'm a prefect!"

"Perfect Prefect..."

"Showing off again.."

The twins started finishing each other sentences until Percy finally smacked them on the arm.

The entrance to Diagon Ally was a brick wall. When Harry and Dudley were at the very front, Molly Weasley used her wand to tap some of the bricks and soon enough, a beautiful shopping village was revealed that was beyond anything Harry or Dudley could have ever imagined. There were dozens of stores, streets lined with people more colourful than they'd ever seen before and store owners pitching sales or talking to customers about magic products. Children could be seen running around in robes while clusters of older witches and wizards could be seen pointing to varies items and windows.

"Mum, can I show Harry and Dudley the brooms? I reckon Dudley hasn't seen one yet. How about you Harry?" Ron asked sounded very excited at the idea of sharing something so cool with children who'd never seen them before. As the youngest boy, he didn't get to teach his siblings much and because Ginny was so close to his age, she was at his level and didn't need him to show her anything. Ron was excited to get the opportunity to be almost like a big brother for a day, helping Harry and Dudley through Diagon Ally. With Draco Malfoy.

"Draco explained them to me but I've never seen one before," Harry said, turning a bit pink at the excitement and attention. He was curious to see a flying broom. Draco had been going on about Quidditch for a while and he was curious to see all it involved. Draco had wanted to take him flying the very first day he was at his house but Severus said Harry was still too weak and probably wouldn't be able to safely fly until at least September and that was if he continued to gain weight at his current rate.

"My brother played Quidditch for Gryffindor when he was at Hogwarts. Charlie was a legend actually; now he works with Dragons in Romania," Ron said smiling at how successful his brother was. His other brother was a curse breaker. They were both doing very well and made him want to do well so he could be just like them but it was a lot to live up to and sometimes he wondered if it was even worth trying, if he could ever be smart and brave like his brothers.

Their first stop had been to pick up their books. Percy was more than happy to help Harry and Dudley pick out books aimed towards muggle-raised students to help them catch up in their classes. When any of them would ask him a question, he would proudly answer in the deepest voice he was capable of. Every question brought more and more confidence to the boy and Harry was happy to ask questions if it made him so happy to answer.

When they went to get their wands, Harry got his wand but when he stepped aside for Ron to get his wand, the boy's ear tips turned red as he told them he'd be using his brother's wand for school. However, Severus Snape was not going to accept that and insisted upon paying for Ron's wand.

"Mr Weasley, if the wand doesn't choose you, it can affect your performance and make it harder for you to learn basic spells, which could make learning the advanced ones harder later on," Severus said, knowing Mrs Weasley was not one to accept charity and Ron looked like he didn't seem thrilled to be accepting the handout either.

"But, I don't want to be a charity case," Ron said frowning.

"Alright, then, I will make a deal with you. I will buy you your wand, in exchange for work in my lab for one evening in September," Severus said, beginning to think of easy tasks he could assign the child that weren't tasks used for detention. He was bargaining with the child, not punishing him.

"Okay, deal!" Ron said, happy to not be receiving a charity but exchanging a service for something he needed. It made him feel like an adult to do that. This was something his family did often to get their things for so many children for school.

He knew they were getting money from the ministry for Dudley's food, clothes and anything else he was going to need but he knew his parents were going to use that money for Dudley only. He'd heard his parents talking about it the night before and about how they were worried that Dudley wouldn't get along well with his siblings. He could tell the larger blonde boy was making an effort to get along with everyone but he could see that he had trouble sometimes with patience and sharing.

By the time they left Diagon Ally to go to supper at the Leaky Cauldron, Ron and Draco were debating professional Quidditch teams while Harry and Dudley watched their animated discussion with amused looks on their faces. Occasionally, the two boys would completely forget that neither Harry nor Dudley knew anything about Quidditch beside the fact that it was a sport played on brooms and would ask one of them to back him up with stats, only to be met with blank, confused expressions.

Ginny would throw in her opinions marking whoever she was agreeing with gloat while the other person would roll his eyes and began throwing off stats in direct contradiction.

At dinner, Ron and Draco continued their discussion when Harry and Dudley began talking about magic and how different their lives were now that they were both in magic homes.

"And the dishes, they actually wash themselves. Its amazing and they have a clock that tracks if their kids are in danger, at school, sleeping and other things," Dudley said between bites.

"The Malfoys have that too for Draco. It's got his picture on the hand and its got an alarm for if he's in danger," Harry said, grabbing a fry. This was the first time he had ever sat down and eaten a meal at the same table with Dudley and it was nice to talk to the boy when he wasn't insulting him or threatening to beat him up. In fact, he found his cousin to be quite entertaining and the fact that he was just as new to magic as Harry, made him enjoy his presence a little bit more. Things were still a bit tense between them and there were still awkward silences but those were becoming fewer as they got to know each other a little better.

Arthur and Lucius had slipped off a while ago to talk about an assignment he was doing for Dumbledore and had returned to find his son and Ron Weasley arguing happily about brooms and Harry and his cousin were sitting at another table with Percy Weasley going over Hogwarts a History. Percy looked to be in his element as he went over Hogwarts history with two curious muggle raised boys who were hanging off of his every word.

Harry would point to a picture and ask a question and Percy would straighten a little bit so he could speak in a deep voice. Yes, they were all thrilled in their current activities, he thought as he watched Fred and George read a joke book and Ginny Weasley was fixated on a broom in a catalogue while taking notes on the speeds and prices.

Molly was sitting with Narcissa, comparing different charms in effect for keeping their kids safe without coddling them to the point where they freaked out over a simple bump or bruise.

When they separated for the night, Harry promised to write Dudley often and Dudley had promised he would find out more about Bill and Charlie's jobs because they had some incredible jobs but neither boy knew what those jobs actually involved; just that they both were considered high-risk jobs.

Back at the Malfoy Manor, Harry spends the evening looking through his books, admiring his new robes and studying his things for potions class until he falls into a deep sleep when the exhaustion from such a busy, overwhelming day but before he goes to sleep, he smiles because not once did he feel nervous or anxious around his cousin.

 **Hey everyone. I'm not sure how often I'll be updating now that school has gone back in but upon some reviewing of my work I've gutted my former writing techniques and I'm working on more thorough and consise writing and planning methods from my stories. As I test them out, I'm going to limit the amount of stories I work on. This is one of my higher priority stories, so hopefully it will be updated soon. :)**


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